Square Enix: DRM is "essential for the foreseeable future"

In a new interview, an executive at Square Enix has doubled-down on the company's DRM policy. The executive claims that DRM protects profits at the end of the day, and that's the most important thing to any development studio, big or small.

“The primary benefit to us is the same as with any business: profit,” Adam Sullivan, the senior manager of business and legal affairs at Square Enix, told TorrentFreak . “We have a well-known reputation for being very protective of our IPs, which does deter many would-be pirates.” When asked if DRM actually works, he responded, “[E]ffectiveness is notoriously difficult to measure—in short, we rely on the data available to us through our sales team and various vendors, along with consumer feedback.”

When asked if DRM is here to stay, Sullivan said, "This depends on your definition of DRM, but generally yes—I think DRM will be essential for the foreseeable future.”

For all of the many strides being made in the DRM conversation, it's a bit depressing when a company stands up and makes the same arguments we've been hearing for years—decades, even. Server authentication through reliable networks like Steam have taken some of the sting out of modern DRM, but even so there have been more than a few recent disasters . In the meantime, companies who foster goodwill with their player-bases and offer DRM-free alternatives are becoming a larger part of the discussion—and thank goodness for that.